For some decades there has been a search for processes for the production of cellulose moulded bodies able to substitute the viscose process, today widely employed. As an alternative which is interesting among other reasons for its reduced environmental impact, it has been found to dissolve cellulose without derivatisation in an organic solvent and extrude from this solution moulded bodies, e.g. fibres, films and other moulded bodies. Fibres thus extruded have received by BISFA (The International Bureau for the Standardization of man made fibers) the generic name Lyocell. By an organic solvent, BISFA understands a mixture of an organic chemical and water.
It has turned out that as an organic solvent, a mixture of a tertiary amine-oxide and water is particularly appropiate for the production of cellulose moulded bodies. N-Methylmorpholine-N-oxide is primarily used as the amine-oxide. Other amine-oxides are described e.g. in EP-A-0 553 070. A process for the production of mouldable cellulose solutions is known e.g. from EP-A-0 356 419. The production of cellulose moulded bodies using tertiary amine-oxides is generally referred to as an amine-oxide process.
In EP-A-0 356 419, an amine-oxide process for the production of spinnable cellulose solutions using as starting material, among other substances, a suspension of cellulose in liquid, aqueous N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) is described. This process consists in transforming the suspension in a thin-film treatment apparatus in a single step and continuously into a mouldable solution. Finally, the mouldable solution is spun into filaments in a forming tool such as a spinneret, the filaments being conducted through a precipitation bath.
As mentioned above, as a starting material for the production of the mouldable cellulose solution, a suspension of cellulose in aqueous tertiary amine-oxide is used. This suspension is produced by introducing shredded cellulose into the aqueous amine-oxide solution. Subsequently, this suspension, optionally after being homogenized once more, is transformed into the cellulose solution. For this step, conveniently a thin-film treatment apparatus such as a FILMTRURER.RTM. manufactured by Buss AG, Switzerland, is used. In the thin-film treatment apparatus, those concentration ratios are adjusted which according to the phase diagramm for the ternary substance mixture cellulose/amine-oxide/water (see e.g. WO 94/28212) allow for the cellulose to dissolve.
The more precise the dosage of the cellulose suspension, the better the results of the amine-oxide process. Due to the consistency of the suspension however, controlling the flow of such a suspension is inaccurate for the purposes of the amine-oxide process. By means of conventional mass flowmeters such as inductive flowmeters or measuring instruments using the Coriolis measuring principle, a precise control of the flowing suspension or a precise dosage is not possible, due to the inhomogenities, air bubbles etc. of the cellulose suspension.